


Young Love

by Shierusowl



Series: Red Hair and Specs, How Fun [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: F/M, Soulmate AU, drowning tw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-13 11:51:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12983475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shierusowl/pseuds/Shierusowl
Summary: When Ignis was a child he wrote on his hand, not knowing it would appear on his soulmate as well. Now, 18 years later, he comes face-to-face with a sassy red-headed hunter who shares every mark that appears on his body, and he shares every mark that appears on hers. His soulmate, Honoria.





	Young Love

          Honoria was 5 when her first mark appeared, a simple word on the back of her hand. She didn’t put it there, and she couldn’t read what it said either.

          “Mommy!” she cried, running through her family’s home in search of her mother. She bounced excitedly at her mother’s feet. “There’s a word on my hand! Can you wead it for me, pwease?”

          Alma Curatrix bent down, taking her daughter’s hand and read it out loud. In a childish, messy scrawl, it read, “Remember Spectacles.”  Alma quirked her brow. Could little Honoria write yet? She couldn’t read, so…

          “Honoria, did you write this dear?” She asked, gasping quietly when her daughter shook her head with enough force to make herself dizzy. Alma couldn’t help but smile at the revelation. Honoria had a soulmate and an intelligent one at that.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

          Honoria was 13 when she finally got up the courage to write a message to her soulmate. She’d been seeing bruises appearing on her ribs and arms, and feeling the burn of working muscles. It couldn’t           have been her doing, as she sat in classes day in and day out.

          ‘ _Could my soulmate be being abused? Or worse, forced to work? I hope not. Poor dear. I_ _’ll beat up whoever_ _’s hurting you._ _’_

          Honoria sat in her room with a marker. She took a deep breath and wrote on her arm.

**_Hello._ **

          Ignis Scientia jumped when he felt the familiar burn of his soulmate’s drawing crawling up his arm. He sighed heavily, rolling his sleeve up to just what they’d drawn this time. He was pleasantly surprised to see a lack of butterflies and hearts. He stared at the single word on his arm.

**_Hello._ **

          Gods above, they could do something other than drawing. It’s a miracle. He continued to stare at the fading word on his arm, considering his options. Impulsively, he grabbed a marker and wrote back.

**_Hello, soulmate._ **

**_______________________________________________________________________________________ **

          Honoria stared in shock at the new words appearing on her arm.

          ‘ _Holy shit. Holy shit. Hooooollllyyy shiiiitttt. He replied. Astrals save me, he replied._ _’_

          She found a new spot on her arm to write again.

**_Ummm_ ** **_… Are you alright? I_ ** **_’ve been seeing bruises, and I know they_ ** **_’re not from me. Do you need help?_ **

          She capped the pen and waited patiently for his reply.

**_I_ ** **_’m in training. Even blunted daggers bruise._ **

**_Oh! Are you a member of the Crownsguard then?_ **

**_Not technically. Too young. I_ ** **_’m being trained for it though._ **

**_How old?_ **

  1. **_Yourself?_**
  2. **_What_** ** _’s your name?_**



          “Ignis!”

          Ignis’ head shot up at the sound of his name being called. He rushed to his uncle with his sleeve still rolled up. He was sent to go play with his liege, the marks from his soulmate slowly fading away. Honoria never learned her soulmate’s name.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

          Ignis was 17 the first time he felt his soulmate was really in trouble. He’d felt and seen bruises on his face and legs before, from what he assumed was sword training, but he hadn’t felt anything like this. At first, it felt like he’d run into a brick wall, but then it got worse. He collapsed to his knees, clutching his chest tightly. It felt like water was filling his lungs.

          “Specs!” His young charge called, the 15-year-old prince rushing to his future advisor’s side, “What’s wrong?”

          All Ignis could do in response was cough. Suddenly, the feeling faded, as if someone had brought his head above water.

          “Noct, can you get me a marker?” He asked, doing his best to hide the desperation in his voice. His soulmate couldn’t have died, not before he met her. He watched the boy run off to somewhere in his apartment.

          ‘ _Six, please. Let her be safe._ ’

          Noctis returned with a black marker, handing it to his older friend. Ignis quickly uncapped it, rolling his sleeve up to write a message.

**_Soulmate, are you OK? Please be OK. Please._ **

**_______________________________________________________________________________________ **

          Honoria felt like she’d been hit by a train. Or like she’d jumped out of one. Why did she think that was a good idea? Oh, wait. It wasn’t.  She opened her eyes to see two girls staring down at her. One looked tougher, or at least as tough as a teenager could. The other, who was kneeling next to Honoria, appeared more withdrawn, almost emotionless. Her skin was fairer than her companion’s but still darker than was common in Lucis.

          “Ahnya, she’s awake.” Said the stoic one, turning to face the other girl.

          “Umm… Hi?” Honoria greeted, confused. The last she remembered, she was drowning. “What happened?”

          “Good. You’re finally fucking awake, idiot.” The dark, tough-looking girl answered. “Why the fuck would you jump off a train?”

          “It seemed like a good idea at the time.” Honoria inwardly groaned. Of course, one of her saviors _had_ to be the rudest child alive. The stone-faced one pointed at the rapidly appearing words on Honoria’s arm, tapping her companion on the hip.

          “I think your soulmate’s trying to get a hold of you, dumbass,” Ahnya smirked, tossing the tall brunette a marker. Honoria caught it easily, quickly writing a reply.

**_I_ ** **_’m fine, babe. Just had a plan backfire, that_ ** **_’s all._ **

**_What kind of plan? You almost died._ **

**_I kinda jumped off a train_ ** **_…_ **

**_WHY?_ **

**_Seemed like a good idea at the time. -\\_(_ ** **_ッ)_ /-_ **

**_Seemed like a good idea? I thought I was going to lose you before I even got a chance to meet you._ **

**_Sorry, babe. We_ ** **_’ll remedy that someday soon. I swear._ **

**_I don_ ** **_’t even know your name, Soulmate._ **

**_It_ ** **_—_ **

          The tougher-looking girl snatched the marker away, ready to begin her questioning of the brunette she had pulled from the water. Honoria let out a sigh. She’d try to tell him her name later.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

          When Ignis was 19, Red splotches appeared on his forehead. They stained his professional looking demeanor, then started to spread down his face and to his arms. In the middle of a meeting. He glared at Gladiolus, who was trying to stifle a laugh at his friend’s problem.

          Ignis sighed, just what was she doing this time? Who even was this woman? And why now of all times? Ignis caught a glance from the king, an amused smirk adorning the older man’s face.

_Damn. Even His Majesty_ _’s paying attention to this._

          Ignis quietly excused himself from the meeting, pulling the marker he’d taken to carrying with him out of his pocket. He rolled up his sleeve, writing quickly across his forearm, and _oh gods, even that has red streaks on it._

**_Soulmate, what in Bahamut_ ** **_’s name are you doing?_ **

          He let out an exasperated sigh when her response appeared.

**_Dying my hair! Trust me, it looks fantastic!_ **

**_Why did you choose now, of all times? I was in an important meeting._ **

**_Whoops? Sorry, babe. Gotta go. Got a hunt. Later!_ **

          Iggy growled in frustration. Why was his soulmate this moronic? First, he had to deal with Gladio and Noct. Then came Prompto. _I thought Soulmates were supposed to be your perfect other halves, not your polar opposites._

          Ignis got accustomed to the occasional red splotches reappearing whenever his soulmate chose to re-dye her hair. He also got accustomed to looking at the back of his hand whenever he awoke, checking for a message saying, **_Have a good day, babe,_**  or **_Just thinking of you. Can_** ** _’t wait to know your face,_** but he’d resigned himself to never meeting his soulmate, only knowing her affections from afar. That is, until Insomnia fell.

          Honoria and her girls found themselves at Wiz’s Chocobo Ranch after a particularly grueling hunt. She got their pay from Wiz just in time to hear the shouts of Ahnya getting ready to start a fight. She sighed, jogging over to break it up when she stopped suddenly. The most gorgeous man she’d ever seen had beaten her to the fight.

_Gods, why must you torture me?_ _’_ She thought as she stared at him. With a sculpted jawline, elegant nose and posture, and the way his glasses framed his face… _‘unf._ _’_

          “Hello, Handsome. Name’s Honoria.” She shot a flirtatious smile at him, cocking her hip and flipping her long hair over her shoulder. She hoped that her blouse was unbuttoned just enough to flaunt her ample chest. She briefly glanced down at herself. ‘ _Cleavage, check!_ _’_

          Ignis’ face showed that he was highly unamused. He extended his hand out to the redhead, Introducing himself in return. Something felt familiar about the woman, like he’d talked to her before, but he was sure he’d recall her fire-like hair and her “winning” personality. Could she go two seconds without dropping a pick-up line on him? ‘ _Apparently not._ _’_

          “So, where’re you boys from?” Honoria asked, eyeing the large amount of Black and the skull imagery adorning their clothes. She may not have payed attention in school, but any Insomnian knew what that imagery meant. She struggled not to laugh as she watched the boys all look to the tall, sexy, intelligent-looking one.

           “We’re from near here,” He replied, his accented voice lilting delightfully. Honoria suppressed a shudder at his voice. That was definitely getting burned into her memory for later. She wondered briefly if that’s what her soulmate would sound like before focusing back on the men in front of her.

           “Oh? You guys sound like you’re from Insomnia,” She started, watching their reactions carefully, trying not to laugh at the small blonde one’s eyes widening, “But maybe that’s just me hoping some other Insomnians made it out of the fall. I wasn’t there, but several of our friends lost their lives in the fight.”

          The blonde boy’s face lit up. “We lost friends too!”

          The others turned and immediately shushed him. “Prom, shush!”

          Honoria stifled a snicker. They were the prince and his Crownsguard all right, and idiots to boot.

           “Well, my girls and I should probably head out,” She said, scribbling her number on a napkin, handing it to the bespectacled one with a wink, “If you need anything, and I do mean _anything,_ ” she dropped her voice to a sultry purr, “give me a call, handsome. I’ll come running as soon as I can.”

           “I’ll be sure to do that.” He replied, dryly. _Not in a million years._

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 

          Honoria was a whopping 23 years old when she definitively found out her soulmate’s name.

          When Honoria woke up that morning, she was mildly peeved to find, not one, but two dicks on her face.  As she stared at her face in her little compact mirror, she wondered what the hell she’d done to piss off Ahnya enough to get, “double dicked,” as she liked to call it. She sighed and crawled out of the tent she shared with her companions, stretching with a yawn.

           “Mornin’ guys,” she greeted, getting a shocked silence from the group.  She stared in confusion at all of them. They all had dicks on their faces, so it couldn’t have been that. She glanced down at her chest. She hadn’t popped out of her tank top, and she was definitely wearing pants. “What’s wrong? Is there something on my face? Other than the dicks.”

           “I know I only drew one on your face.” Ahnya answered, shock still evident on her face. The group looked amongst each other in shock, until Ahnya started to smirk. “Oi! Ignis! C’mere!”

          The bespectacled man looked highly unamused as he joined the group, penises crossing his cheeks. Honoria’s eyes widened, he couldn’t be. Ignis returned her gaze, his own eyes widening in return.

           “No fucking way.”

           “This is not possible!”

          Ahnya cackled before tossing Honoria her marker. “There’s only one way to test right? Why don’t you write your normal note to your soulmate.”

          Honoria stared at the back of her hand for a moment, before proceeding to write.

          **_‘Hey babe. I think it_** ** _’s time I told you my name. I_** ** _’m Honoria Pax Curatrix._** ** _’_**

          Ignis pulled his hand in a little closer to his chest, his breath catching as he felt the sensation of his soulmate writing on her hand. There’s no way. The woman who had been incessantly hitting on him, who had been working to get of his nerves, who had stepped up to help keep Noctis and Prompto sane, who bore as much responsibility for other as he did, was his soulmate? He peeled the glove off, reading the message quietly to himself. He glanced up at Honoria, a smile gracing his face, “Well, Soulmate, it’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Ignis Scientia. I do believe we need to have a long talk.”

          Honoria disregarded his last words, already launching herself at him. The man she’d resigned herself to never meeting, who she thought was dead at several points in her life, was Ignis? The man she’d been trying to hop in bed with for weeks? Her arms wrapped around his neck, her head nuzzling into the juncture between his head and shoulder. She’d found him. She’d finally found him.

          Ignis stiffened at the sudden contact, taking a small step back under the assault of her full weight. Honoria started to step back, only to be pleasantly surprised when Ignis’ arms wound themselves around her waist, preventing her from leaving him. He’d just found his soulmate, just got her in his arms. He wasn’t going to let go of her.

      “Ignis?” She questioned, trying to pull away from him. This wasn’t normal. Ignis Scientia was a stoic man, him showing emotion was nearly unheard of.

     “Quiet, Honoria. Let me hold you for a moment.” He heard a call to leave the lovebirds alone to talk, and tightened his grip on his other half. He pulled away when the last of them left, his stoic demeanor returning. “Now, we need to talk.”

     “I knew your sudden change was too good to be true.” Honoria sighed, stepping away from her meant-to-be.  She rested a hand on her hip, annoyance rising at how well he played her. “What’s next then? You know I’ve been in love with you since we were children, my messages over the years should have made that clear. The ball’s in your court, Iggy.”

      “Yet, you still tried to jump in bed with every man you’ve ever met, even though you knew you had a soulmate.” Ignis replied, accusingly. Honoria quirked an eyebrow. Oh, he was not going to do this. She was his soulmate, not his girlfriend, not his wife, not his property. Not to mention that she didn’t even know who her soulmate was until 10 minutes ago. She had no obligation to be faithful to him in that time. Not to mention…

      “Stop right there.” She held a hand up, ready to slap Ignis if he continued his train of thought. “I didn’t know who the fuck you were. For all I knew, you hated me after we finally met, and after Insomnia fell, I was convinced you were dead. No messages, at all. Really? No, ‘Hey, did you make it out?’ or ‘Hey, I’m alive!’ to tell me that I wasn’t alone?”

     Ignis’ eyes widened as she spoke, seeing the hurt in her face. He knew how’d felt when she’d nearly drowned years prior, when he felt her pain and was unable to get a hold of her. To feel that for months on end, feeling everytime he got hit by a stray attack, feeling him get burned, shocked, or crushed when Noct called on the astrals… _gods, I_ _’m an idiot._

      “The only reason I knew you had survived was because I felt you get shot the next day!” She continued, resisting the urge to wrap her hands around the advisor’s throat.

     He felt his heart hurt as he saw the shininess of her eyes. He reached out to pull her back to his chest. She struggled against his grip weakly until he whispered, “Forgive me.”

      “For what?” She asked, freezing in place. She couldn’t understand this play of hot and cold. One moment he’s yelling at her, the next he’s hugging her. Gods, she hated being jerked back and forth like this. She pushed him away from her, using as much force as she could. “If this is some sort of game, Ignis, I’m out.”

     She turned from him ready to walk away when he grabbed her wrist. “Norie, wait.”

      “Did I give you permission to call me that?” She snapped, anger blazing in her green eyes. She wrenched her arm from his grasp, pulling back like she was going to punch him. She stopped herself, turning to walk away.

      “I need some space.” She stated coldly, trying to rein her emotions back in. He didn’t deserve to see her break. “Send Ellie for me when we’re ready to leave.”

     The one thing she couldn’t rein in was the lone tear rolling down her cheek.

     Ignis watched it fall, everything in his body telling him to comfort, to fix what he’d done wrong. His pride, however, said not to, to let her stew and let her fracture. It served her right for breaking his implicit trust in her.

     Sometimes, he hated himself.

 


End file.
